Title: Spiritual Vitamins
Author: Winston Wilson
Reviewer: Billy Hall
IF YOU are someone interested in a daily reading of God's Word, explained to enlighten, to educate and to challenge for holy living, then this book is ideal.
It is simple, straightforward, and scriptural. There is a directness and explicitness, powerful in combination, which makes it easy to understand the message of the Bible, and difficult to avoid the challenge derived from each text.
The author, Winston Wilson, is a skilled draughtsman and strong evangelical, and so, not surprisingly, these elements of his background are reflected in his book, for he writes with precision and with persuasiveness.
His theological training was at the Emmaus Bible School in Chicago, founded and operated by the Christian Brethren, the denomination to which he belongs. He is a member of Maverley Gospel Hall, Kingston, where he has served for many years as an Elder, and where he is still a member.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
He says the book was written day-by-day, as he shared his devotional thoughts with a small group of friends, through Internet contact. The few soon became the many, some of whom began encouraging him to produce a book. Therefore, as soon as he had completed a year's supply of material, working ahead of the calendar, he asked his sister Audrey to help him with proofing, and contacted a journalist and book-editing specialist to help him prepare the manuscript for publication. Wilson did the typesetting and correcting.
The title came from the majority of his Internet circle of readers, and the cover design from much consultation among friends, for selection. The printer was chosen on the basis of his reputation for book production and time-delivery Mr. Trevor West of XPRESS, located in Cross Roads, Kingston.
OF FOREIGN ORIGIN
Most devotional books available locally are of foreign origin by famous pulpit speakers or authors of previous centuries. Some devotional books are products of denominations (and foreign). Otherwise, they are produced by a para-church organisation, such as Student Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union (SCF/SU).
This book fits none of those categories. Therefore, whether it will prove popular on the market is moot. As a 384-page book with a unit cost of $800 the price is reasonable, but in Jamaica selling 500 copies of a book like this is difficult, even over two years.
Undaunted, Wilson is already at work on a second devotional book, focusing this time on two Old Testament books Jonah and Lamentations. He says the burning desire to press ahead explaining God's Word to all and sundry, is like a fire in his bones that must get out, lest he be consumed.
Anyone reading this book, if not converted, is going to be strongly challenged to make a personal commitment of life to Christ. And any reader, already converted, will be much challenged to deepen commitment to Christ and His cause. This is because the author's trenchant style is toward individual response with decisiveness.
An attractive feature is that each page has the same stylistic structure subject, Scripture text (New International Version), Reflection, Prayer, and a closing practical thought he calls, "Wisdom". This stylistic structure, along with relatively short sentences and paragraphs, enable readers to better assimilate the daily dose of Spiritual Vitamins.
